Orange County leaders spend $52K on office renovations

At a time when budgets are so lean that Orange County workers haven't had a raise in two years, four county leaders spent $52,220 recently to renovate work spaces, replace furniture and lay new carpet in their offices.

County leaders say the work was done frugally and was necessary because in some cases, they faced peeling wallpaper, stained carpets and chairs or no office furniture at all.

"I inherited something that needed to be rehabilitated," said Mayor Teresa Jacobs, who spent $32,298 on five executive-office areas and a conference room that Mayor Rich Crotty used for a decade. "There's nothing lavish or posh about this office."

Commissioner Ted Edwards spent $10,251 updating offices where he had worked for eight years during a previous stint on the commission. Commissioner Lui Damiani, appointed to replace Mildred Fernandez after her arrest on political-corruption charges, said his office had no traditional furniture, so he spent $9,091 on remodeling.

Rookie Commissioner Jennifer Thompson kept the look of her predecessor and spent just $580.

Thompson said she was told commissioners are allowed up to $15,000 to buy furniture for themselves and staff. "I was simply aghast," she said.

None of the figures appear outlandish, but only Thompson appeared to spend as little as possible, a member of a watchdog group said.

"What kind of message does it send to spend $10,000 to renovate your office when people are out of a job?" said Michael Walzak of CountyWatch. "It's just the appearance of it, at a time when you're telling people they can't have a raise."

Indeed, the totals are minuscule as part of the county's annual $3 billion budget and pale next to a $5 million renovation by former Mayor Mel Martinez a decade ago.

Jacobs said the renovations had to be done.

The offices were showing a decade of wear and tear, she said. Some carpets and furniture were stained and threadbare, and there were nail holes and fading colors on some walls.

New wallpaper would have cost nearly $20,000, her chief of staff Graciela Noriega Jacoby said, but Jacobs decided to paint instead for $3,756.

The mayor said she used surplus furniture and kept many older pieces. For some lamps and other accessories, she brought items from home or went to discount stores, she said.

Since taking office in January, Jacobs said she has saved taxpayer money by refusing to accept a county vehicle, doubling up in hotel rooms with her female chief of staff, flying coach and carpooling on trips closer to home.

"In the context of that whole [picture], I don't think anyone has run a tighter ship," Jacobs said.

Edwards, like Jacobs a self-proclaimed fiscal conservative, had the same County Commission seat and office space from 1996 to 2004. In 2010, he replaced Commissioner Bill Segal, who lost his bid to become mayor.

Edwards' renovation included new carpet, wallpaper, painting and furniture.

He could not be reached for comment.

Damiani's work included $2,248 for painting and $6,843 in office furniture. Damiani said the rattan furniture that Fernandez left behind was already being moved out by county staff when he arrived.

He said he asked for furnishings that would fit the county offices' traditional look.

"It will, in my mind, have a long lifespan and be readily usable by anyone in the future," Damiani said.

Thompson said she understands her peers had different challenges but all she needed were new chairs for aides.

"It's not my home; it's just an office," Thompson said. "As long as it's clean and professional, I was OK with it."